Indees upset Panthers, fall to Pirates

The Independence/Gilmanton volleyball team pulled off one upset and was close against the top team in their regional bracket, but fell short.

The ninth-seeded Indees went back-and-forth against eighth-seeded Pittsville last Tuesday, but the local team came away with a 15-11 win in the fifth set to advance to the regional semifinal against first-seeded Cochrane-Fountain City. The Indees were close in the first two sets, but came up just short before the Pirates finished the match with a 25-11 win in the third.

Under first-year coach Chelsea Vetterkind, the Indees finished 8-12 overall and 4-6 in what has proven to be a difficult Dairyland Conference. Three DC teams — C-FC, Blair-Taylor, and Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran — advanced to the sectional round and will play on Thursday. The Indees are hoping to take that next step next year with a roster that will graduate just one senior. 

I/G     25 24 25 19 15

PHS   16 26 18 25 11

After a close loss in the fourth set, the Indees pulled through in the fifth.

The Indees had a strong night at the service line as Danika Ekern finished with five aces while Celia Slaby had three, Nora Schank and Hadley Sylla both had two and Hannah Ekern and Harper Symicek had one.

Danika Ekern was also active defensively with 27 digs. Sylla added 18 digs, Schank finished with 16 and Hannah Ekern had 15. 

Sylla had a team-high 12 kills, one more than Schank while both Hannah Ekern and Hailey Gruber finished with eight, Shauna Dejno had seven and Celia Slaby added two. Dejno added five blocks, while Hannah Ekern had four, Sylla finished with three and both Slaby and Schank had two. 

Hannah Ekern led the team with 31 assists. 

I/G      24 27 11

C-FC  26 29 25

The Indees pushed the Pirates in the first two sets, but came up short.

The team had a balanced attack at the net as Hadley Sylla and Nora Schank both had seven kills while Hannah Ekern finished with five, Hailey Gruber with four, Shauna Dejno had three and Celia Slaby added one. Dejno and Sylla also each had one block.

Hannah Ekern handled most of the setting duties, finishing with 19 assists, while also leading the team with 19 digs. Danika Ekern added 12 digs, Schank had 11 and Sylla finished with 10. 

Danika Ekern had three aces while Slaby and Harper Symicek both had one.